Canada immigration news: As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, public health restrictions are eased and Quebec works hard to rebuild its economy and resolve labour shortages, the francophone province is seeing a resurgence in immigration in 2021.
In the first nine months of this year alone, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) figures show the province welcomed more new permanent residents than it did all of last year.
Immigration to Quebec was already up by almost 35.5 per cent of last year’s total at the end of September this year, with 34,170 new permanent residents to the province during that time period compared to the 25,225 new permanent residents to the province in all of 2020.
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The province’s immigration minister, Nadine Girault, wants to keep that momentum going and bring in more foreign workers to deal with Quebec’s growing labour shortages. Earlier this year, she pledged to raise the province’s immigration levels as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then, last month, the province announced it would be investing more into immigrant settlement services.
“I am pleased to announce today an important investment of more than $20 million to support non-profit organizations that help immigrants settle into our regions,” Girault tweeted in mid-October.
Before the pandemic, immigration to Quebec had been fairly steady for three years after jumping by 8.7 per cent, from 48,975 to 53,240, from 2015 to the next year, show IRCC figures.
The arrival of COVID-19 in Asia in late 2019 led to travel restrictions there and cut immigration to Quebec, leading to only 40,565 new permanent residents to the province that year. This year, the rate of immigration to Quebec has the province on track to surpass that level set in 2019 by 12.3 per cent.
Quebec plans to welcome up to 70,500 new immigrants in 2022, according to the Immigration Levels Plan tabled in the National Assembly in late October.
The figures include 52,500 newcomers under the previously announced plan, and 18,000 intended to make up the deficit of newcomers registered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rebalancing figure is high because Quebec immigration is forecasting that it will fail to reach its 2021 immigration target.
Last year, the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) planned to welcome up to 54,500 newcomers in 2021, including 7,000 to help make up the shortfall seen in 2020, at the height of the pandemic.
But projections show Quebec will only welcome a maximum of 47,100 newcomers this year, a number that could drop as low as 43,100.
With the labour shortages rampant throughout the province, Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) updated its list of occupations that qualify for its facilitated Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) earlier this year.
The list of jobs in high demand for which employers do not need to demonstrate they have tried to hire and failed to find suitably-qualified Canadians now includes:
|
NOC code |
Occupation |
|
0111 |
Financial managers |
|
0112 |
Human Resources Managers |
|
0121 |
Insurance, Real Estate and Financial Brokerage Managers |
|
0122 |
Banking, credit and other investment managers |
|
0124 |
Advertising, marketing and public relations managers |
|
0131 |
Telecommunication carriers managers |
|
0213 |
IT system managers * |
|
0311 |
Managers in health care |
|
0421 |
Administrators – post-secondary education and vocational training (only for educational institutions designated and recognized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another ministry or agency authorized by the State). |
|
0422 |
Supervisors / School Principals and Administrators / Administrators of education at primary and secondary school programs (for educational institutions designated and recognized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another ministry or mandatory agency of the State) |
|
0423 |
Managers in social, community and correctional services |
|
0711 |
Construction managers |
|
0712 |
Home construction managers and renovators |
|
0821 |
Managers in agriculture |
|
0822 |
Horticulture managers |
|
0911 |
Manufacturing Managers |
|
1111 |
Financial auditors and accountants |
|
1112 |
Financial analysts and investment analysts |
|
1113 |
Securities agents, investment agents and traders |
|
1114 |
Financial planners and financial advisers (only this name) |
|
1121 |
Human resources professionals |
|
1122 |
Professional occupations in business management consulting |
|
1212 |
Supervisors, finance and insurance office workers |
|
1213 |
Supervisors, library, correspondence and other information workers |
|
1214 |
Postal and courier service supervisors |
|
1215 |
Supervisors, supply chain, tracking and scheduling co-ordination occupations |
|
1222 |
Executive assistants |
|
1223 |
Human Resources and Recruitment Officers |
|
1224 |
Property management officers |
|
1225 |
Purchasing agents |
|
1243 |
Medical administrative assistants |
|
1251 |
Court reporters, medical transcriptionists and related occupations |
|
1252 |
Health information management occupations |
|
1311 |
Accounting technicians and bookkeepers |
|
1312 |
Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners |
|
1313 |
Insurers / Underwriters |
|
1315 |
Maritime brokers (only this designation) |
|
2112 |
Chemists |
|
2113 |
Geoscientists and oceanographers |
|
2121 |
Biologists and related scientists |
|
2122 |
Forest science professionals |
|
2123 |
Agricultural Representatives, Consultants and Specialists |
|
2131 |
Civil engineers |
|
2132 |
Mechanical Engineers |
|
2133 |
Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
|
2134 |
Chemical engineers |
|
2141 |
Industrial and manufacturing engineers |
|
2142 |
Metallurgical and materials engineers |
|
2143 |
Mining engineers |
|
2146 |
Aerospace engineers |
|
2147 |
Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) * |
|
2151 |
Architects |
|
2153 |
Urban and land use planners |
|
2154 |
Land Surveyors / Surveyors |
|
2161 |
Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries * |
|
2171 |
Computer analysts and consultants * |
|
2172 |
Database analysts and data administrators * |
|
2173 |
Software engineers and designers * |
|
2174 |
Programmers and Interactive Media Developers * |
|
2175 |
Web Designers and Developers * |
|
2223 |
Forest science technologists and technicians |
|
2224 |
Natural and fishery technicians |
|
2225 |
Landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists |
|
2231 |
Civil engineering technologists and technicians |
|
2232 |
Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians |
|
2233 |
Industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians |
|
2234 |
Construction estimators |
|
2241 |
Electronic and electrical engineering technologists and technicians |
|
2243 |
Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics |
|
2251 |
Architectural technologists and technicians |
|
2254 |
Land survey technologists and technicians |
|
2263 |
Public health, environment and occupational health and safety inspectors |
|
2264 |
Construction inspectors |
|
2281 |
Computer network technicians * |
|
2282 |
User support workers |
|
2283 |
Computer systems assessors and the video game tester designation * |
|
3011 |
Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors |
|
3012 |
Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses / Registered Psychiatric Nurses |
|
3111 |
Specialist doctors |
|
3112 |
General Practitioners and Family Physicians |
|
3113 |
Dentists |
|
3114 |
Vets |
|
3121 |
Optometrists |
|
3122 |
Chiropractor / Chiropractors |
|
3124 |
Related primary health care practitioners |
|
3131 |
Chemists / Pharmacists |
|
3132 |
Dietitians and nutritionists |
|
3141 |
Audiologists and speech-language pathologists |
|
3142 |
Physiotherapists |
|
3143 |
Occupational Therapists |
|
3211 |
Medical laboratory technologists |
|
3212 |
Medical laboratory technicians and pathology assistants |
|
3213 |
Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians |
|
3214 |
Respiratory therapists, cardiovascular perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists |
|
3215 |
Medical radiation technologists |
|
3219 |
Technical assistants in pharmacy (only this name) |
|
3221 |
Denturists |
|
3222 |
Hygienists and dental therapists |
|
3233 |
Licensed practical nurses |
|
3234 |
Paramedics |
|
4011 |
University professors and lecturers |
|
4012 |
Post-secondary teaching and research assistants |
|
4021 |
College Teachers and Other Vocational Training Instructors (Only for Educational Institutions Designated by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another government department or agency) |
|
4031 |
Secondary school teachers (only for educational institutions designated and recognized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another ministry or agency authorized by the State) |
|
4032 |
Elementary and preschool teachers (only for educational institutions designated and recognized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another ministry or agency authorized by the State) |
|
4033 |
School Information Consultants |
|
4112 |
Lawyers (everywhere in Canada) and notaries (in Quebec) |
|
4151 |
Psychologists |
|
4152 |
Social workers |
|
4153 |
Marriage therapists / marriage therapists, family therapists / family therapists and psychoeducators / psychoeducators (only this name) |
|
4156 |
Employment counselors |
|
4161 |
Natural and applied sciences researchers, consultants and program officers |
|
4162 |
Economists, researchers and economic policy analysts |
|
4163 |
Economic development officers, marketers and marketing consultants |
|
4164 |
Social Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers |
|
4165 |
Health Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers |
|
4166 |
Education Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers |
|
4211 |
Legal technicians (only this name) |
|
4212 |
Social and community service workers |
|
4214 |
Early childhood educators and assistants (whose employer is authorized to hire is an educational institution designated and recognized by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur or another ministry or an authorized agency of the State, or a daycare service recognized by the Ministry of Family) |
|
4215 |
Instructors of persons with disabilities |
|
4312 |
Fire / female firefighters |
|
5125 |
Translators, terminologists and interpreters |
|
5131 |
Producers, directors, choreographers and the name technical, creative and artistic directors, technical, creative and artistic directors and project managers – visual effects and video games |
|
5211 |
Library and public archive technicians |
|
5223 |
Graphic arts technicians |
|
5241 |
Graphic designers and illustrators * |
|
6211 |
Sales Supervisors – Retail |
|
6221 |
Technical Sales Specialists – Wholesale Trade |
|
6231 |
Insurance agents and brokers |
|
6235 |
Financial sales representatives |
|
6314 |
Information and customer service supervisors |
|
6331 |
Butchers, meat cutters and fishmongers – wholesale and retail |
|
7201 |
Supervisors, machinists and metal forming, profiling and assembling trades personnel (only this designation) |
|
7202 |
Electricity and telecommunications foremen / women (only this designation) |
|
7205 |
Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers |
|
7231 |
Machinists and Machining and Tooling Inspectors |
|
7233 |
Sheet Metal / Metal Workers |
|
7236 |
Ironworkers |
|
7237 |
Welders and Related Machine Operators |
|
7242 |
Industrial electricians |
|
7245 |
Telecommunications line and cable workers |
|
7246 |
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers |
|
7251 |
Plumbers |
|
7252 |
Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers |
|
7271 |
Carpenters / Carpenters |
|
7281 |
Bricklayers / Bricklayers |
|
7282 |
Concrete finishers |
|
7283 |
Tiles / Finishers |
|
7284 |
Plasterers / Drywall installers / applicators and pavers / finishers and Interior Systems Drywall / Lathers |
|
7291 |
Roofers and shinglers |
|
7292 |
Glaziers / vitrières |
|
7293 |
Insulators / Insulators |
|
7294 |
Painters and decorators (except interior decorators) |
|
7295 |
Floor covering installers |
|
7301 |
Mechanical foreman / woman (only this designation) |
|
7302 |
Supervisors, heavy equipment operator teams (only this designation) |
|
7303 |
Supervisors, printing and related occupations |
|
7311 |
Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics |
|
7312 |
Heavy-duty equipment mechanics |
|
7316 |
Machine fitters |
|
7318 |
Elevator Constructors and Mechanics |
|
7321 |
Motor vehicle, truck and bus mechanics and repairers |
|
7331 |
Oil and solid fuel burner installers |
|
7332 |
Appliance servicers and repairers |
|
7333 |
Electromechanical / Mechanics |
|
7361 |
Locomotive and Yard Mechanics |
|
7371 |
Crane / Operators |
|
7381 |
Printing press operators |
|
8211 |
Supervisors, logging |
|
8241 |
Logging machinery operators |
|
8252 |
Foremen / women, agricultural services, supervisors of farms and specialized workers in animal husbandry (only this designation) |
|
9212 |
Supervisors, petroleum refining, gas and chemical processing, and utilities |
|
9213 |
Supervisors, food, beverage and associated products processing |
|
9214 |
Supervisors, rubber and plastics product manufacturing |
|
9215 |
Supervisors, forest product processing |
|
9235 |
Operators in pulp and paper pulping, papermaking and coating operators |
|
9241 |
Power station mechanics and power system operators |
|
9243 |
Water and waste treatment plant operators |
In Canada, the province of Quebec is unique in that it administers its own immigration programs which have separate selection criteria from those of other provinces and the federal government.
Francophone Province Manages Own Expression of Interest System
The province has, for example, its own Expression of Interest immigration system to select candidates for the Quebec Skilled Worker program. Candidates submit profiles via an online portal called Arrima.
The system is designed to allow candidates with the best credentials to get to the front of the line to maintain a continuous flow of new workers with profiles that meet the needs of Quebec businesses.
Foreign nationals wishing to settle permanently in Quebec must undergo a two-step immigration process.
First, they must be selected by MIFI and get a Quebec Certificate of Selection (CSQ). This is an official document issued by Quebec immigration authorities to attest that the candidate has been selected by the province. It is not a visa, so it cannot be used to enter into Canada.
Once the foreign national has his or her CSQ, the next step is to file a permanent residence application with IRCC within 24 months from the date the CSQ was issued.
The federal government’s role in evaluating a Quebec application for permanent residence is mainly limited to issues of health and criminality.
At this stage, an application will be submitted to IRCC, including police certificates and medical exams, when requested.
There are several programs for those who want to immigration to Quebec.
Under Quebec’s Regular Skilled Worker Program (RSWP), candidates declare their interest in immigrating to Québec to work. The province then selects candidates who are most likely to establish themselves economically in Quebec.
These are workers whose skills correspond to particular provincial market needs, which makes it easier for them to find work. Quebec bases its selection on a grid of factors for which points are awarded, namely education, work experience, language knowledge, age, children, spouse’s characteristics and financial autonomy.
Wealthy individuals may consider any of Quebec’s business programs, which are: Investors, Entrepreneurs and Self-employed.
Another program available for those candidates who are already living and working or studying in Quebec is the Quebec Experience Program – PEQ. Eligible candidates can apply for a CSQ under an accelerated process. Two streams are available: Quebec Graduate and Temporary Foreign Worker.